Could PHYS-L possibly affect the problem with science fairs and
hypothesis-testing? Maybe we could ask the educational branch of the NSF
to adopt a policy (if they have not already?)
Or perhaps a petition signed by a large number of educators and
researchers could have some sort of impact. Below is my attempt at a
possible petition:
By requiring that our children distort their science projects to
follow a stereotyped charicature of science, we convince them that
Science is excruciating, straight-jacketed stuff. We hide from them
the entire reason why scientists do Science in the first place: it
is a joyful exploration of totally fascinating topics. It is playing
with cool equipment. It is dancing with the universe and learning to
see in new ways. Yes, sometimes scientists propose and test
hypotheses, but usually only AFTER they have explored nature and made
interesting discoveries.
Please end the "Hypothesis/Experiment/Results" requirement in science
fairs. While numerous methods exist for doing science, there is no
single "Scientific Method."
Comments?
I intentionally avoided supplying any "methods of science" in the above.
If we knock "the scientific method" off its pedestal, then freedom is
promoted and the science fair rules become less narrow and rigid. Is this
enough? The science fairs still need rules, but I fear that we might
replace one overly-narrow requirement with another.